Learning Leadership: Outdoors with Year 6

Nestled in the beautiful Pre-Prep campus you will find an exciting high ropes course, rolling fields of open space… and last Friday, an extremely excited group of Year Sixes!

To prepare the new ‘top dogs’ of the Prep school, Year 6 was treated to a day of activities dedicated to developing leadership. With the help of the Outdoor Education staff, the great outdoors became the backdrop to a series of team building and creative exercises designed to stretch Year 6’s ability to problem-solve, adapt, and work together.

The day also gave teachers the chance to get to know their new pupils outside of the classroom, helping them to better support every individual to aim high and succeed.

First to be spotted amongst the canopy of trees were a class of resident artists, challenged to create their own mandala designs using whatever they could find in the woods around them. Acorns, leaves, and even a remarkably docile spider were all used to furnish the forest floor with beautiful art.

Elsewhere, students embraced their inner fashionista, making catwalk-ready outfits out of paper and loose forest material. No scissors, Sellotape or glue was allowed, leading to some very resourceful uses of jumpers, belts and even twigs!

Other groups tried out ‘Mini Pioneering,’ working together to build tall freestanding flags and working catapults. These structures were tough to maintain, requiring pupils to constantly communicate and experiment with their design. However, by the soaring heights of multiple flags and the speed at which tennis balls were being slingshotted into the sky, it was clear that Year 6 eventually got the hang of their structures, by working in a team.

These activities, amongst a host of other challenges, got Year 6 pupils thinking about how to lead, work as a team and approach new challenges. This is the first of many opportunities this year where Year 6 will develop and stretch their leadership skills, aiding pupils to embrace their full confident, conscientious, and adventurous selves when they make the transition to Senior School.